Raseiniai

History

Raseiniai is one of the oldest communities in Lithuania – the name of the settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1253. Its name was mentioned in Chronicles of the 13th and 14th centuries under various names, including Rushigen, Rossyen, and Rasseyne. In 1253 Grand Duke Mindaugas ceded one part of the Samogitia territory, including some of the district around Raseiniai, to the Livonian Order, and the rest to the first bishop of Lithuania, Kristyan. In the 14th–18th centuries, Raseiniai was one of the most important towns in the Samogitia region. At the end of the 14th century, the town became important centre, and its representative participated with others from the region in signing the peace treaty of Königsberg in 1390. At the end of the 15th century, Raseiniai was granted Magdeburg Rights. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth the town became important in the region. Government institutions were located there, and it served as a mercantile center for the area. In 1580 the local aristocrats met there in order to choose their representatives to the General Sejm (parliament) in Warsaw. From 1585 Raseiniai served as the permanent location of the county parliament. In 1792 city Magdeburg rights were renewed. The 1st and 3rd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigades were stationed in the town in the 1790s. Following the third partition of the Commonwealth in 1795, Raseiniai was annexed by the Russian Empire and its town rights were annulled. In the Russian Empire, the town was the center of a Rossieny County. From 1801 to 1843, the county was in the Vilna Governorate, and from 1843 on it became part of the Kovno Governorate. Historically, the chief articles of commerce were wood and grain for export. Because of its geographic position and distance from the railroad…